Older people turn to temping

29 September 2004

BRUSSELS – An increasing number of Belgium’s older workers are using temping agencies to find work, it was suggested on Wednesday.

According to figures from Federgon Interim, a federation for temping agencies, more than 24,000 workers aged 45 or over temped, 7.8 percent of the total temporary workforce.

“Temping plays an important role in the reintegration of elderly workers,” said a spokesman for Federgon. “The temp sector puts almost three times more workers aged 58 and over back to work than the whole of the work market.”

And temping proves a successful way to get a permanent job.

Almost 65 percent of those surveyed were after a permanent contract and one in two temp workers over 45-years-old found one during their temporary work.

Some 65 percent of them found a post with the company where they were temping, compared to 50 percent of temporary workers overall.

When asked why they chose to work, the vast majority of the older workers stated job satisfaction (90.2 percent), financial necessity (87.2 percent), social contact (85.4 percent) and the maintaining or improving of skills (75
percent) as their reasons.

Three-quarters of the workers surveyed said the best attraction of temping was the freedom it gave them to accept or decline job offers.

They also said temping was easier to find than other work, a temporary solution, allowed the trying out of new jobs and gave the chance of regular work.

Age still counts against workers looking for a job, concluded the survey, with opportunities harder to come by from the age of 53.

However, for those who temp, 85 percent told Federgon they had been satisfied or very satisfied with their post.

Older workers also seem to consider temping the best way to find a permanent job – 90 percent rated temping,
compared to just 53 percent who favoured newspaper advertisements.

Subject: Belgian news